December 13, 2011

Elisha Gray

Considered to be the father of the modern music synthesizer. Born into a Quaker family in Barnesville, Ohio, Gray was brought up on a farm. He spent several years at Oberlin College where he experimented with electrical devices. Although Gray was not a graduate of Oberlin College, he taught electricity and science at Oberlin and built laboratory equipment for Oberlin science departments. He was a charter member of the Presbyterian Church in Highland Park, Illinois. At the church, on December 29, 1874, Gray gave the first public demonstration of his invention for transmitting musical tones and transmitted "familiar melodies through telegraph wire" according to a newspaper announcement. This was one of the earliest electric musical instrument using self vibrating electromagnetic circuits that were single-note oscillators operated by a two-octave piano keyboard. Read More: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elisha_Gray

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This blog is about early electronic music instruments from the 50's, 60's, and 70's (pre-MIDI instruments that deal in wholesome CV and Gate signals). It's also about my experience with Quakerism, my fondness for C.S. Lewis, The Epcot Center, my puppetry, eggnog, oatmeal flavored soap, Christmas etc, etc. Herein I will try to connect the real or imagined dots between them. Bits of comedy throughout.

I'm a member of The Fifteenth Street Monthly Meeting of The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) and the Puppeteers of America organization. Occasionally I attend the New York C.S. Lewis Society Meetings.

Join me as we apply the Quaker concepts of plainness and simplicity to the creation of electronic music.